


[He Chose Titans] Side Story: Kuchel's Letter

by masksarehot



Series: He Chose Titans - Side Stories [1]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-08
Updated: 2015-05-08
Packaged: 2018-03-29 13:38:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3898303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/masksarehot/pseuds/masksarehot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>[He Chose Titans] - Fic side story. SNK spoilers, Chapter 69. </p><p>The night after Kenny finds Levi, he returns to Kuchel's residence a final time. You don’t have to be familiar with He Chose Titans to read this, but it helps.</p>
            </blockquote>





	[He Chose Titans] Side Story: Kuchel's Letter

**Author's Note:**

> Typos galore, probably. Needed to get this out. Might edit later.

**Kuchel's Letter**

Once Levi finishes eating, he curls up in the corner like a dog.

"At least sleep on the bed, kid," says Kenny, because sacrificing one's comfort seems like something a would-be parent should do. But Levi's already out, his breaths rattling. He sounds like he'll die before dawn. _That'd save me the trouble,_ thinks Kenny, and his chest aches. He drapes a cloak over the kid, then stands and puts on his hat.

Kuchel's exactly how he found her last time, but for some reason, her appearance shocks him all over again. He drags a chair up to the bed and sits, studying her face. He's seen a lot of corpses in his day, but always fresh. This is new.

"You're a fucking idiot," he says. "I told you to come home."

He can picture her glare; she always was an expert glarer. He hopes Levi inherits it from her. Kenny's learned to be many things, but never to look intimidating -- not to anyone who's unfamiliar with the body count in his wake, at least. There'd probably be fewer bodies if he'd been able to scare people away just by looking at them.

"Your kid's an idiot, too. Didn't think to go look for food." He leans back in the chair. "I'll toughen him up, make him survive. That's all I can promise. I'm not good at the other shit."

He catches himself pausing, waiting for her retort.  _Well, shit._

"You leave anything good for him?" The top drawer of her side table is jammed. He pulls a few times, then yanks it open. A few coins -- he pockets them. Cheap costume jewellery -- he pockets that, too. A dull knife, covered in old blood. He doesn't want to think about that, so he leaves it.

A single envelope rests in the bottom drawer. He tears it open, hoping for money, but it's a letter.

-

_His name is Levi. I am his aunt, on his father's side. His parents died when he was young. Tell him the police took me away, if he'll believe it. He may be young enough to forget the truth. The fever is strong, and he is so small..._

_Tell him he was loved. Tell him he will survive. Teach him to be strong, and proud, and skilled, so that he never ends up here._

_I'm so sorry, Levi._

_-_

The words are blurring. Kenny blinks until they clear, then crumples the paper.

He knows why she lied about his parents: the same reason she didn't tell Levi his family name. Maybe that's smart; it still feels like rejection, and he can't explain why. He thinks about how small her hand was when she was born, how perfectly it curled around his finger. He hears his mother's whisper:  _You're her big brother. She knows you'll always protect her._

His face twists.

He breaks the lamp and douses her in kerosene, then breaks another and trails it around the room. He breaks the mirror, too, because he needs to feel something.

As her body catches, he leaves, because the smoke is already stinging his eyes.

His room is dark when he returns, and he drops into a chair. He can still see the green afterimage of the flames in the blackness. It's probably his imagination.

"You came back." The voice is tiny and frail, but he still jumps.

"'Course I came back. Go to sleep."

"It's dark."

Flame is the last thing he wants to see. He lights a lamp anyway, his stomach heaving. "You've gotta toughen up, kid. It's just a little darkness."

The boy is still sitting in the corner, arms wrapped tightly around his tiny body. "I miss my mother."

"That wasn't your mother. That was your aunt." The words taste so bitter that he spits.

The boy looks confused. "But-"

"People lie, kid. Get use to it." He leans back in the chair and closes his eyes. "Take the bed. Get some sleep. Tomorrow, I'll start teaching you how the world works."

He's almost asleep when he feels a small form crawl on him. 

"Kid-" He opens his eyes, then stops. Levi curls up on his lap, so small, so light that his weight is barely noticeable. His eyelashes are long, his nose snub. He looks so much like her.

His throat tightens, and he can't clear it. How does a person soothe a child? Touch, probably. He reaches out to poke the chubby cheek.

Levi, half-asleep, grabs his hand, holds it close, like he's holding a blanket or a stuffed toy. His fingers are so small, so much like Kuchel's.

"Shit," whispers Kenny.

 


End file.
